STAR Catholic School Division exceeds provincial achievement standards
Posted
Provincial Achievement Test (PAT) and Diploma Exam results continue to tell a success story for St. Thomas Aquinas Roman (STAR) Catholic Schools. Overall STAR Catholic students exceeded the provincial PAT Acceptable standard by 7.9% and the provincial PAT Excellence standard by 0.2%. In addition, STAR Catholic Diploma Exam Participation Rate (number of students writing four or more exams) exceeded the provincial rate by 10.9%, as well as STAR Catholic’s own three year average. Additionally, STAR students exceeded the provincial Diploma Exam Acceptable standard by 0.2%.
Some highlights include:
- Grade 6 English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies and Science students exceeded the Provincial Acceptable Standard as well as the Standard of Excellence in Science.
- Grade 6 French Immersion students, although a small group, exceed the Provincial Acceptable Standard in French Language Arts.
- Grade 9 students improved upon their impressive results from last year with students having exceeded the Provincial Acceptable Standard and the Provincial Standard of Excellence in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.
- These results in Grade 6 and 9 were combined with very high participation rates in all Provincial Achievement Tests.
- High school students exceeded the Provincial Acceptable Standard in English 30-1 and 30-2, Chemistry 30 and Social Studies 30-1 Diploma Exams.
- English 30-2, and Social Studies 30-1 Diploma Exam results exceeded the Provincial Standard of Excellence. Chemistry 30 showed significant improvement in the Standard of Excellence over STAR Catholic’s previous three year average year results.
“We’re excited by the results we’re seeing this year,” said Assistant Superintendent Kevin Booth. “The achievement of our students is a tribute to their dedication and commitment, but it also speaks to our teachers and their desire to help students achieve their personal best, as well as the support we receive from parents and guardians at home. This is a team effort and we’re proud to share that success. As part of our efforts to constantly improve student learning through our Response To Intervention process (RTI), we will be analyzing our Grade 6 results in the area of Standard of Excellence, our Math 30-1 Diploma Exam results and some other areas of assessment, where we have noted room for potential gains.”
Each year, students in grades six and nine write provincial achievement tests (PATs) – students in grades six and nine write tests in language arts, math, science and social studies. High school students are also evaluated in core Grade 12 courses, writing provincial diploma exams, counting towards 30 per cent of their final course mark in each subject this past year.
Based in central Alberta, Saint Thomas Aquinas Roman (STAR) Catholic School Division represents 12 schools that serve the communities of Beaumont, Drayton Valley, Lacombe, Leduc, Ponoka, and Wetaskiwin. The STAR Catholic Schools team of teachers and support staff are committed to giving more than 4000 students across our division every opportunity to achieve their potential in a caring, safe and Christ-centred environment. For more information on STAR Catholic School Division and our schools, visit www.starcatholic.ab.ca.
For more information, contact:
Kevin Booth
Assistant Superintendent
STAR Catholic Schools
Phone: 780-986-2500
kevin.booth@starcatholic.ab.ca